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Reddit Reviews
So I got both. The ultimea sounds waaaaaay better. Returned the Vizio. It does feel and look cheap but the sound is really good. The sub won't knock your socks off so temper your expectations but it makes watching a movie really pleasant with Dolby atmos. Perfect for a smaller room
We bought the Samsung b650F and we were not impressed at all. It was way too crisp with too much treble and not enough low/bass. It actually hurt our ears to listen to. We tried all the settings and couldn’t get it to balance out. The Polk audio signa s4 was on sell for $359 and still might be. That is a very good sound bar/sub for the money. Even the Vizio 5.1 SE we have has better sound than the b650f and that was $120.
It depends budget and if you want just a front soundbar or a full system with rear speakers and subwoofer. My default recommendation (because I think rear speakers add a lot with all the 5.1 mixes in media) is the $200 VIZIO 5.1 Soundbar SE. it’s a decent budget setup with small surround speakers and a small subwoofer. Much better than TV speakers and the rear speakers help have directional sound that works in most rooms. The upgrade jump is to $700-$800 for the Samsung Q990D via their edu/employee store. [Deal link](https://slickdeals.net/sh/thread-19073338/e/28/c/deal-details/u/556173/) This is what I have (Q990C but minor differences) and is the best bang for the buck full system imo. Dolby Atmos, wireless sub and rear speakers. Has enough power to fill larger rooms than the budget systems. You will want a 55” or bigger tv as the front bar is just over 48” wide, it’s a big one. Sounds great for movies and I love having music on now. Goes on sale for around this price pretty constantly through the employee store every couple of weeks for the last 2-3 years. You can qualify with other memberships, I used AAA when I got mine 2 years ago. The version will increment soon so the Q990F will be on sale as the Q990H has replaced it as the 2026 model. For just a stand alone bar, I’m sure others will chime in but Samsung, Sonos, Bose, and others have a couple of good options at various price points.
yeah these vizios are insane for the price, they work well and vizio knows what theyre doing unlike hisense, clarity is excellent. the one knock is the sub on these low end vizios (i have the 5.1 se) is the sub is not very big or powerful, but it'll be a unreal step up from tv speakers
second the vizio 5.1 se. it sounds and works great. i just decided i wanted an upgrade. the sub is quite small, but again overall it sounds very nice and sharp. but yeah for a similar price, or 50 more, the ax700 would be better.
I paired my 55 qm7k with Vizio SV510X-08 Perfect for a small room
I just bought this same one from Walmart. I’ll have to follow up once I set it up. My brother had the previous model of this and loves it!!
Got it all hooked up, I’m pleasantly surprised with the audio output and subwoofer. At first it was a little flat, but there are settings to enable more of the sub, which I did. For $120, I’d say this is hard to beat.
I love it for movies! The app lets you modify the sound how you like. So I use the movie setting and then turn up the sub and dialogue so voices are not drowned out which still getting a full sound. We just watched Spirited and it was great!
Vizio is the best at that price. Vizio 5.1 SE is usually $200 and actually a really good deal. Wireless sub and surrounds. I had one, they're legit.
For smaller budgets, Vizio is king. They excel at making the low to midrange soundbars. Checkout the Vizio SE. Comes with subwoofer and surrounds. usually $150.
I bought this and so far so good, keep in mind that the subwoofer is compact
Rankings by Use Case
Top recommendations from others in the same boat
Best for Apartments

Top pick
Sonos - Arc Ultra
Best for Dialogue clarity

Top pick
Samsung - Q990F
Best for Large open-concept rooms

Top pick
Sonos - Arc Ultra
Best for Music-first listening

Top pick
Sonos - Playbar
Best for Standalone setups

Top pick
Sonos - Arc Ultra





